Railway construction investment will remain at a high level this year. It is reported that 35 new railway projects will start construction this year, with plans to put 2,100 km of new lines, 2,500 km of double-track lines, and 4,000 km of electrified railways into operation. Projects including the Shijiazhuang-Jinan, Wuhan-Jiujiang, Xi'an-Chengdu, and Baoji-Lanzhou passenger-dedicated lines will begin construction this year.

The 2017 railway construction plan proposed by China Railway Corporation sets the task of maintaining the national railway industry's investment at last year's level and fully completing the fixed asset investment plan issued by the state. This means railway investment this year will still exceed 800 billion yuan and is expected to hit a new high.

In 2016, the national railway industry completed fixed asset investment of 801.5 billion yuan, of which 767.6 billion yuan was completed by national railways. A total of 3,281 km of new lines, 3,612 km of double-track lines, and 5,899 km of electrified railways were put into operation; 46 new projects were started, adding an investment scale of 550 billion yuan. By the end of 2016, China's railway operating mileage reached 124,000 km, including more than 22,000 km of high-speed rail. The Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was fully operational, and major projects such as the Yunnan-Guangxi railway and the Chongqing-Wanzhou high-speed railway were successively put into operation; railway operating mileage in the central and western regions expanded to 95,000 km, accounting for 76.6%.

Recently, various regions have successively announced their major project construction plans for this year, with railways still a major focus. For example, Guangdong Provincial Railway Investment Group announced its 2017 key railway construction projects, totaling 56, with an investment plan of 49.086 billion yuan. Among them, there are 5 projects to be put into operation, 17 continued projects, and 6 newly started projects, with 14 national railway trunk line projects and 14 Pearl River Delta intercity railway projects each.

Lu Dongfu, general manager of China Railway Corporation, stated at the company's annual work conference that railway construction will be continuously advanced and project quality and safety will be comprehensively strengthened. With a focus on railway construction in the western region, in accordance with the Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan and the 13th Five-Year Plan railway construction plan, construction projects will be scientifically and reasonably arranged, project organization and implementation will be advanced in an orderly manner, and quality and safety will be strengthened.

With the revision of the Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan, local versions of medium- and long-term railway network plans have also been revised, significantly increasing railway investment. For example, the Chongqing Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan (2016-2030) was recently released. The reporter noted that to achieve the planning goals, nearly 600 billion yuan in total funding will be required.

The National Development and Reform Commission will further delegate railway project approval authority, which will further ignite local enthusiasm for railway investment. The NDRC issued the Notice on Further Delegating the Approval Authority for Government-Invested Transportation Projects, stating that for non-cross-provincial new ordinary railway projects (including additional double-track lines) included in relevant plans approved by the state, those mainly invested by China Railway Corporation shall be decided by China Railway Corporation itself, while those mainly invested by local governments and society shall have their feasibility study reports approved by provincial governments.